Rupert, the unauthorized biography
by Marjorie Nescio
Summary: When a historian writes a biography about the late Rupert II there's a lot of news to fill the articles on 'Rupert, the king, the man', most notably about the King's marriage and love life.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: the publication of a biography of the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands inspired me to write a story in the form of an interview with the auth_ _or of King Rupert's biography (chapter 1) as well as a review of said book (chapter 2). I used some ideas/characters from other stories of mine but there's no connection intended to those stories. The story is set pre-PD and Philippe is still alive._

HIS PARENTS OFFERED HIM THREE BRIDES TO SELECT FROM. RUPERT CHOSE THE YOUNGEST

 _After his award winning biography of former Prime Minister Suarez professor doctor Roger d'Essai is about to publish a biography of our late King Rupert II. In his office at the University of Pyrus he was interviewed by Claude Barrio._

Q: What made you want to delve into the King's life?

'When I was working on my Suarez biography I learned that King Louis VI was anxious to see his eighteen year old heir wed. It seemed trivial for Rupert didn't marry for another eighteen years so I didn't mention it. But it made me think why Louis VI was so outspoken. Was his health poor? Was his son a womanizer already and did he fear the threat of illegitimate grandchildren? I concluded that Louis VI, who was a bit of a hypochondriac, was afraid that he would not become older than his own father who died at age forty-five, the same age Louis had in 1935 when Rupert turned eighteen. In response to his father's request to get married the prince started to romance married women who were for that reason alone unlikely to wed him. He understood his father's anxieties but he felt that he was too young to be married. He wanted to have fun and enjoy himself. At age twenty-five his parents gave him half a year to find a wife or they would find him one.'

Q: Would his parents have wanted him to get married while there was a war going on?

'They wanted him to get engaged, that is for certain. Their timing again made me wonder whether the prince had been a party-animal and to my surprise I found that though he had dated several women over the years, he had also worked very hard to improve and create refugee camps for the victims of countries invaded by the nazis. I was intrigued and I decided to learn more about him.'

As I pick up the biography Mr d'Essai handed me on my arrival, it is clear that the professor wrote down a lot about the late King. There are four modest sections with pictures in the nine hundred page book and nearly eighty pages containing notes. With the Royal Archive not opening its files on Rupert II for many decades, I ask the professor after his sources.

'I was introduced to people from the King's circle. Some didn't want to talk but many did and they were my first sources apart from the documents I'd already gathered. I was grateful when count Courcy, the King's lifelong friend, proved willing to share his memories about the King. He was a very valuable source. Once it got to be known that I was working on a biography, I was approached by among others the grandson of the King's nanny who handed me the letters his grandmother had written to her family. Naturally I always cross-checked data and when I had doubts about this or that, I merely used it in a note or ignored it.'

Q: Checking the index I see that the first chapter is called "Obituaries". Why is that?

'I wanted to remind readers how the King had been looked upon. Actually I planned to end the book with an obituary written by me but my editor convinced me that such a summary of a life would not do justice to either man or book.'

Q: You mentioned having learned things about King Rupert when researching for another biography. How did you approach him?

'The way I like to work is to note down questions I want to answer. I then collect data – two of my students helped me with that–, process it and note down new questions. For instance I learned that Rupert had been understanding when his eldest son wanted to become a priest. This made me look into his past to see if there were indications that he himself had thought of a future outside the royal family. Once I reach the point where all of my questions are answered, I start writing.

When I compare my two biographies the striking difference is that people barely knew Suarez, while King Rupert was known since birth. Everyone, myself included, had an opinion about him and as a researcher I had to ignore that opinion and be open. The King surprised me.'

Q: How so? For not getting married when his parents wanted him to?

'Well, it did start then. By working hard for the war victims he proved to be more than a connaisseur of women and wine. He seemed ready for marriage but he ignored the task that had been set to him thinking that the King and Queen were bluffing. Knowing that he didn't get married until 1953, I concluded that he'd been right. He'd been wrong however. When he didn't bring home a fiancée his parents offered him three brides to select from. Rupert chose the youngest: lady Clarisse.'

Q: Lady Clarisse as in Queen Clarisse? But she was only seven in 1942. What or who are your sources?

'Among others count Courcy showed me a letter the prince had sent him about his options. The count graciously allowed me to bring experts on handwriting and paper and such and they confirmed the letter to be authentic.'

Q: Were the other two brides-to-be also children?

'No they weren't. One was nineteen, the other twenty-two.'

Q: Why did the prince chose a child to be his future wife?

'It allowed him to remain a bachelor for another eleven years.'

Q: Rumour has it that after he married he still lived as if he were a bachelor.

'Those eleven years didn't turn him into a faithful husband. However, unlike people think he didn't sleep around once he was wed. He had eight affairs during his marriage, lasting from eight months till seven years. As a married man he was very discrete when it came to his "partners": they never made it to the papers. He spent his time with them in one of count Courcy's mansions.'

Q: Have you interviewed any of his mistresses?

'Out of the eight ladies one passed away years ago. Someone whose affair with him took place in the 1960's was willing to talk. She kept seeing him after the relationship ended and she became a confidant when it came to his affairs.'

Q: Have your inquiries into his private life led to other new facts?

'Yes, among others I learned that he was afraid to become the sort of father his father had been to him. Louis VI wasn't unkind, but he was distant. He communicated through letters. Queen Clarisse taught her husband that he could be sponteaneous, that is was all right to hug. As a result Rupert became a father who showed his sons that he loved them. He was also a kind, supporting brother and a loyal friend. As for a husband: obviously he didn't keep to his wedding vows but he was fond of the Queen and he highly respected her judgement. They made for a great team. In later life he tried to make up for all those years when he took her for granted.'

Q: As a King, what was his greatest strength?

'His love for his people. He wanted to improve the lives of his subjects. It first showed during WWII and it never stopped. He was also good at promoting Genovia and Genovian trade abroad. He's done a lot for the Genovian Olympic Commission: he in fact initiated it.'

Q: Have you changed the way you thought about the King?

'He wasn't the partying womanizer I expected him to be. What surprised me most was that my idea of him as a politician was incorrect. He was a man for hands on action. '

Q: You mean that he preferred offering direct help over defending proposals in Parliament?

'As I said: he and Her Majesty made a great team. He was capable of persuaing people to do his bidding and he in fact liked this power of his but she was the all round politician of the two. And the diplomat as well. The King had a bit of a temper and on occassion the Queen prevented a heated moment to turn into a diplomatic affront.'

Q: To finish this interview, there is talk of making a statue of the King. How would you prefer that to look like?

'It's usually head to toe isn't it? The King made a striking figure in uniform and he liked being around soldiers, so a statue in uniform is to be expected. I'd say that in a painting one could show more of his personality.'

Q: How would a painting of Rupert II have to look like?

'His sons would have to be in it too for he dearly loved them and the feeling was mutual. I can picture the three of them standing by a chair in which the Queen is seated. Like in old works of art there'd be various symbols in it. I don't know a lot about paintings though. You do, don't you? (I nod.) So after you read _Rupert, the king, the man_ you can tell me how his painting ought to look like.

Note: next week's _Country's Voice_ will contain a review of prof. dr. d'Essai's book.


	2. Chapter 2

A CAPTIVATING TALE

 _by Claude Barrio_

 _Roger d'Essai, 'Rupert, the king, the man', Frerer Publishers, 903 pages,_ _34,49 EUR_

King Rupert's health was already deteriorating when Roger d'Essai announced that he was working on the King's biography. His widely praised biography of former Prime Minister Antonio Suarez had taken him six years to write. It took him nearly as long to publish _Rupert, the king, the man_. For the coming decades the documents in the Royal Archive on d'Essai's subject will remain inaccessible but despite that the writer had many authentic documents to study and he interviewed various people, ranging from the King's friends to courtiers, common Genovians and foreign dignitaries. That alone is valuable for by the time the archives will be opened Rupert's contemporaries will have passed away.

D'Essai's main 'live' source, the French count Courcy, posesses hundreds of letters the King wrote to him as well as copies of the return letters. With copyright of the King's letters being applicable, the count prepared for all interviews by re-reading the letters between him and his royal friend and so the problem of not being able to quote from Rupert's letters was more or less solved. One might question this approach, but one can also see how d'Essai couldn't ignore the correspondence, that offers a wealth of insight into the King's mind.

The writer has not fallen into the trap of pretending to know what his subject thought or felt on occassion and combined with the fact that he isn't the sort of author to spell things out for the reader and that he used many (end)notes, his book is not an easy read. He writes well though, occassionally larding his text with irony and for his style alone the biography could be considered a success, even it were only to relate to things that are known already. D'Essai's extensive research however learns us new things about Rupert, king _and_ man. This review will mostly stress Rupert the man though the book gives just as much attention to Rupert the public figure.

 **Much more than a playboy**

As a reminder for the reader the author starts his biography with several obituaries. These draw a scetch of the King as a remarkable politician, a sportive handsome man with great charisma who deeply cared for his country and his sons. He was acknowledged to be grumpy at times and it was a well known secret that he was an unfaithful husband, rumours saying that he had hundreds of affairs.

After this introduction D'Essai continues as expected with Rupert's childhood. He paints a picture of a boy who was affectionate toward his siblings and nannies. The prince barely saw his parents, something that was not uncommon among nobility in those days. Until he was sent away to boarding school at age eight he longed to please his mother and father and the way to do that was to have a stiff upper lip. At boarding school showing emotions wasn't approved of either. Count Courcy remembers his friend as a boy who loved to run and play balls and who didn't care much for the punishment following breaking a window or not doing homework: "He was very aware of his own position: being a future King. He wouldn't allow adults to tell him that he was erring." In the course of his life the King didn't outgrow this characteristic. Another thing boarding school brought him was a keen sense of being Genovian: the school being a French one some pupils (all sons of noblemen, though the King – not wanting to be seen as a snob – later made it appear as if the school had been accessible to commoners also) mocked foreigners and they made no exception for the heir to the throne of Genovia. These boys discovered that the prince had a boxer's punch. Being insulted regarding his nationality made the topic of young Rupert's essays change from sailing or football to Genovia and famous Genovians.

After finishing boarding school at age sixteen the prince went straight to the army's officer's academy. He had a good time there for he loved physical exercise and the military structure was too his liking, as was the fact that the senior officers treated him as their equal. The prince stayed in touch with count Courcy and they met often. The first gossips about H.R.H. being a womanizer spread. "He was a magnet," count Courcy recalled. "He was young, but he acted like a man. His bariton voice made women swoon." When their son turned eighteen the King and Queen urged him to get married; not so much because they disagreed with his lifestyle but because the King feared that he himself wouldn't live to be old. For the next seven years however the prince continued his merry life as a bachelor. Courcy remarked: "He romanced married women for he wouldn't be able to marry them and they'd have their own marriage to protect. The women were discrete but the journalists wouldn't let go of the prince once they'd caught sight of him. We did quite some running and hiding in those days." This didn't mean that the prince was a mere playboy. After finishing the military academy he sought a way to be useful. His father, much as he feared that his son would have to follow in his footsteps sooner rather than later, barely involved him in affairs of the state. The prince found that there were various things the King didn't pay attention to such as foreign trade and sports.

At the outbreak of the war Rupert had established a circle of men around him of whom his godfather prince Jorge of Spain was the eldest. It also included count Courcy, who spent most of the war in Genovia, as well as friends from the army. Other men were introduced to the prince by his aunt princess Blaise who unlike her brother took an interest in theatre, literature and social issues. She was the one to point out the situation in the refuge camps and Rupert made the camps his very own project. He showed intelligence and psychological understanding by making sure that the Genovians living near the camps were content with the situation. With a war going on in the rest of the world the political lines in Genovia were short and things moved faster than in peacetime, something the prince didn't quite realize: he thought that it was a result of his personal skills that he got things done.

In 1942 the prince became twenty-five and his parents told him that unless he found himself a bride in half a year, they would find him one. They made him attent the few balls that were held in wartime but all Rupert got from that were dates with women who would never meet royal approval. The count, who was about to get engaged himself, introduced some single French noblewomen to his friend. Rupert didn't believe that the King and Queen would live up to their threat. They did however.

 **A long walk to the altar**

When I interviewed d'Essai for last week's _Country's Voice_ he told me about the secret engagement between the twenty-five year old prince and the seven year old lady who would become Genovia's Queen. In his book he states that Rupert's parents included Clarisse Gérard, daughter of count Valois, in the selection because she was a descendant in the female line of princess Charlotte, sister of King Pierre II, the same King whose parentage of his heir is sometimes doubted. From Rupert's point of view his choice needed to be explained also since it concerned a very young girl. D'Essai included a three page transcription of an interview with Courcy to prove that the reason the prince chose lady Clarisse was that the two adult candidates were ready to walk the isle and he wasn't.

What strikes me is that though Rupert mentioned that count Valois must be a modern earl of Warwick (Valois made sure that the Charlotte/Pierre topic was brought under Their Majesties' attention and he knew about Louis VI's objections to public schools and therefore had his daughter home educated), he never once contemplated how it must be like for his fiancée, whom he knew had been informed about the arrangement by her father. In a drunken mood he pitied himself for being engaged to a child, forgetting that unlike he himself she had no say in it and that he could have protected her from the marriage by choosing another bride. (This by the way is my own observation: d'Essai relates facts but refrains from judging and his choice of words is admiringly neutral, allowing readers to form their own opinion.)

The author then spends some fifty pages to cover the years until the official engagement and it becomes clear that after the war Rupert felt a little lost. His pet projects (community works and sports, especially his work for the Genovian Olympic team, about which d'Essai uncovered a lot of information) were not met with a lot of resistance but things didn't go as smoothly as in war-time and that annoyed the crown-prince up to the point that his involvement went down. He made public appearances at a rate of once a fortnight, which in those days was a lot, and his popularity grew for among his future subjects he was easy going and accessible. Now that he was secretly engaged he became less discrete when it came to dating and some three times a year a gossip would announce his upcoming marriage. On 18 September 1951 the King suffered his first heart attack and without consulting his son he announced Rupert's engagement to lady Clarisse, though he waited for nearly two weeks so the future bride would be sixteen rather than fifteen.

The official engagement picture shows a handsome couple. Lady Clarisse acted older than her years which unnerved her prince a bit, but he was grateful she wasn't a giggling teenager. To his pleasure he found her to be a pretty girl. Other than that he didn't think about her a lot. The King and Queen were the ones to invite the future crown-princess to the castle and both of them were charmed by the young lady, who was respectful while still being her graceful self. The mutual praise of his parents and aunt at last made the prince join their little party. He discovered his fiancée to be sensitive, intelligent, diplomatic and witty. He appreciated these qualities but what pleased him most was her shyness whenever he held her hand or tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. At Louis VI's death Rupert found that his young bride supported and comforted not only himself, but also his mother, aunt and siblings. He started to look forward to being married.

 **Golden years**

D'Essai then starts the second part of the biography, covering five years only: the first years of King Rupert's reign, marriage and fatherhood. The historian ends the period at the start of Rupert's first adulterous affair. This seemed like a rare moral judgement to me but at the end of the book it becomes clear that in retrospect the King thought of the 1953-1958 period as his Camelot.

The transition from prince Rupert to Rupert II went smoothly: Rupert was glad that he now had real power to work on his projects and he never doubted his ability to fulfill the part. As tradition demanded small groups of MP's were invited over for lunch to get to know their King. The distinguished guests were unwilling to give their new ruler, who was decades younger than they on average were, an easy time. Knowing that his Queen had won over the sexist chamberlain Rupert included her in the lunch meetings. At first he acknowlegded to be amused that she was capable of mellowing the politicians, then he was a bit jealous and then he realized that together they would get a lot done.

His family and friends were pleasantly surprised to see how well Rupert responded to being married. "He was attracted to her," Courcy shared. "Not just physically but mentally too. Her gentleness and kindness to himself and to his family, especially to the Queen-Mother, made him feel cherised." In the early 1990's the King told his friend that if he were to remember only one moment of his life it would be the evening when his wife, pregnant with Philippe, sung their eldest son to sleep.

 **Teamwork**

D'Essai told me in our interview that what surprised him most about the King was that he wasn't the politician people thought him to be. That is: Rupert had the cunning, charisma, self-confidence and ideas about how to rule that can be found in the best politicians, but he lacked the patience to prepare for things as well as the ability to compromize and though his ideas were good, he didn't care to write them down: in his ideal world people would listen to him and execute his ideas without question, filling in the tedious details themselves.

This basically authoritative characteristic didn't show when he was dealing with his subjects. After the avalanche drama of 1957 the King personally commanded the soldiers who were part of the rescue mission and he himself digged tirelessly, inspiring many to volunteer as rescue workers. When it came to comforting people who'd lost relatives he relied on his Queen to do what was expected. No one knew that there was more to her than beauty, kindness and charm. It goes too far to mention all the examples d'Essai comes up with to show that the charismatic and modest Queen was the power behind the King. His ideas were worked out and improved by her. When he was grumpy or downright rude toward courtiers or dignitaries, she smoothed things down. When he grew annoyed during state visits or in Parliament, she'd calm him into patience.

 **Family life**

As a father Rupert would also have been a different man without his Queen. Though she herself didn't exactly have a normal childhood, she sensed how a childhood should be like and she encouraged her husband to forget that he was a King when dealing with his children. During the crisis caused by prince Pierre's choice for the church the King supported him. Part of him was proud that his son walked his own path, though as he admitted to Courcy it would have been different had there not be a capable spare or had Pierre chosen to enter a bourgeois life. For some time father and son were opposed to mother and brother and their bond grew even stronger as a result. The Queen had a hard time accepting the decision of her first born. She couldn't understand why Pierre – as she felt – abandoned his country and by doing so forced his brother into a part he wasn't prepared for. Rupert, for the first time during their marriage, comforted her.

His wild days were gone by then: after deciding that he was too old to be having affairs he'd ended his relationship with a Genovian kindergarten teacher (at which point d'Essai starts the final part of his biography). The King was desperate to win back the Queen's trust. His first affair had hurt her for she'd thought that the gossips had been wrong and that her bridegroom wasn't a womanizer after all. According to Courcy the King, keenly feeling that he was past forty and longing for the freedom he'd had before ascending the throne, was dazzled when the temperamental wife of an ambassador expressed her admiration for him. She became his first extramarital lover and it was her husband who informed the Queen about the affair between their spouses. In a note d'Essai relates that according to Courcy the deceived husband might have made the Queen an indecent proposal. Sure enough the ambassador was assigned a new position far away from Genovia within a week and afterwards the King only dated single women. For his wife's sake and that of the monarchy of which he was now the Head, Rupert was very discrete. At one of Courcy's mansions he loved to play house with his partner of choice. He longed for romance and he loved being praised and pampered by his lovers. He would do as much as needed to inflict such behaviour and he made the women feel special but he didn't trouble himself to support them, as was painfully proven when he cast aside a lover whose illness he couldn't handle. Yet the mistress who was willing to talk spoke his praise and the surviving others didn't feel the need to throw mud at their former lover.

 **Painting a picture**

On finishing the biography one can't help but think that Rupert would have been a worse King, though not a bad King, had he not made a self-interested choice in choosing his bride. D'Essai might have had similar feelings: when he suggested me to think about how a painting of the King and his family should look like, he placed the Queen on a chair, basically seating _her_ on a throne.

Let me make an effort: prince Philippe is seated on the throne's arm rest while the King and his eldest son stand behind it. The King proudly places his hands on his sons' shoulders. Behind the King a painting shows a snake to indicate charm, seduction and sexual energy. The snake slides next to a narcissus (egotism), red and yellow poppies (pleasure, wealth and success) and a purple hyacinth (sorrow). A wolf would symbolize cunning intelligence and an eagle would show that the King was a bit haughty, but also a noble man of action. A beaver would make clear that Rupert was a hard worker and – despite appearances – a family man.

D'Essai honours his topic by showing all aspects of his personality. Rupert II's life was all in all not a life wasted.

...

Author's note: Trying a different format for a story was to my liking. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Unlike Claude Barrio I know next to nothing about symbolism. Livingartsoriginals dot com and thelanguageofflowers dot com were helpful sites.


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